USMLO: The Great Revolution That Provided Solutions Valid for Today

This is an editorial from the November 3rd issue of USMLO's Voice of Revolution.  This article and others on 1917, Puerto Rico, imperialism, the Balfour Declaration, the US withdrawal from UNESCO, etc. will be posted at www.usmlo.org and I will distribute copies locally next week.  This is also my 500th post.   

"The Great October Socialist Revolution took place 100 years ago November 7. It brought forward the new, ushering in the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution.  It firmly settled scores with the old, refusing to accept the institutions and state of the old and instead embarking on a path to build the new, a new that empowered the people and advanced the cause of socialism and the emancipation of all humanity.  It is an example for all today, as it shows the necessity to address the political, economic and cultural problems of the day and provide them with solutions. 

The U.S. Marxist-Leninist Organization salutes the October Revolution and all the workers and communists worldwide defending rights and organizing to follow its path.  We are confident that the path forward it forged is a path forward for workers and oppressed peoples today and one that will enable the peoples to emerge victorious. 

One feature of the revolution is that it provided a solution to imperialist war, by withdrawing from it.  It was said this could not be done, but with the leadership of the Communist Party, the Bolsheviks, it was accomplished.  This firm stand against imperialist war, at a time when many forces supported war, was a vital solution.  It is valid today, at a time when every effort is being made to justify imperialist war, in the name of the war on terrorism. 

 It is said that the U.S. cannot withdraw and bring troops home because supposedly the peoples are not able to govern themselves, provide themselves with solutions of their own making.  Far from it, it is U.S. invasions, wars, aggression and interference that have unleashed violence, destruction and chaos.  U.S. wars are no longer for political purposes, which is also why political solutions are not provided.  Whatever the U.S. cannot control, it destroys. 

The solution required is withdrawal, is Bringing All U.S. Troops Home Now, not tomorrow.  U.S. wars have solved no problem and the broad demand of the majority in the U.S. is to end them all now.  It is to stop funding war, which at present involves almost $700 billion yearly, even more when all the internal police agencies and prisons are included. 

Defending and funding rights abroad and at home is needed.  It is a solution the October Revolution also provided, as it advanced the rights of workers, women, peasants and stood with the peoples of the world.  This was evident in the sacrifice and leadership provided during socialist construction, in WWII and to all the oppressed peoples fighting for their liberation. 

Solutions on the Issue of Democracy

The October Revolution also provided solutions on the issue of democracy, organizing to empower the people themselves.  Today it is said that U.S.-style democracy is the best humanity can accomplish, even though its undemocratic and racist character is evident for all to see.  The bryutal racist police killings continuing with impunity are such that black athletes are once again taking their stand, refusing to stand for the anthem and taking a knee instead.  This action, initially of football players was followed by many, including women's basketball and soccer players, university students, fraternities, little league teams.  Its significance lies in targeting the anthem, a symbol of the U.S. state.  It is directed not only against Trump, but rather against the impunity of the state. 

The U.S. state from its beginning has been based on racism and genocide and impunity to use force against the peoples.  This U.S.-style democracy is mired in deep crisis, as is evident in the fact that the election did not provide legitimacy to the government.  On the contrary, the conflicts within the executive and between it and the military are increasing and played out in public, while the rejection of the democracy among the people is increasing. 

In this regard, the example provided by the October Revolution in building the Soviets and developing new governing structures at all levels while also developing self-defense committees is one to follow.  The revolution did not rely on the old institutions.  It did nor rely on the notion that if the old institutions are filled with better people, with better values, then democracy will prevail.  On the contrary it took up the work of building the new, a democracy of their own making.  This too it what is required today in the U.S.  The old institutions enshrine the old property relations, the old ensemble of relations that keep the war economy going.  A new direction for political affairs is needed and it is the working class that can formulate and advance this new direction, guided by its communist party. 

Every effort is being made to divert from the need for the new, to embroil everyone in being reactive, to Trump, to the latest investigation, to whatever tweet or message is being promoted.  We are to be diverted from the crisis of the rich, their democracy, their war economy -- and the need for solutions.

Communism and the Need for an Outlook        

As part of this, the attack on communism and its supposed failure are being promoted.  This is done to deprive people of an outlook, a way of looking at the world that that enables them to bring about the changes needed by the times.  Supposedly the undemocratic and corrupt U.S.-style democracy is the End of History, meaning the end of development of politics and political institutions.  There is supposedly no alternative to this system, only a choice to make it better -- with great pressure at present to run people for office, get more women to run, get more progressives to run, etc.

An undemocratic system that enshrines private interests and their power to rule cannot be made democratic.  Its pro-war, anti-social character is imbued in every pore.  It is a system stacked against the people and designed to keep them out of power and block any discussion or consideration of their anti-war, pro-social agenda. 

A rigged poker game cannot be made better by having better players at the table.  It is rigged, that is its quality.  The same can be said of U.S.-style democracy, which is in deep crisis and of no use to anyone in this modern day.  As the example of the October Revolution brought forward, what is needed is a new democracy, a new direction, one that settles scores with the old, rather than conciliating with it. 

While those who took up the October Revolution were told their country was too backward to succeed, in the U.S., though conditions are very different, this same chorus that revolution cannot succeed because our working class is too backward can also be heard.  Workers are too bought off, or too comfortable, or too ignorant, etc.  In fact we are home to a modern and advanced working class.  And we are increasingly united with the workers of Canada and Mexico in rejecting the direction of the giant oligopolies.  The problem that exists for solutions is the development of the communist party of the single U.S. working class to lead the struggle for revolution and socialism. 

The communist party is painted as undemocratic and an instrument to oppress the workers and communism itself as a failure.  The rulers attempt to block the alternative of communism because it deprives them of all their privileges and smashes inhuman relations based on ownership of property.  The aim in discrediting communism and spreading endless disinformation about it is to block the working class from discussing and formulating what can be done to build the new, to provide a new direction for political affairs.  What is needed is to put political power in the hands of the people so that their demand for an anti-war government and pro-peace economy can be realized.  And this insistence that there is no alternative is being done at a time when U.S.-style democracy has been reduced to its police powers.  There is no rule of law, only the brutal exercise of police powers.  This requires the criminalization of speech and dissent at home and war and aggression abroad. 

The U.S. Marxist-Leninist Organization sends its revolutionary greetings to the communists of all lands, to the workers of all countries, to all those defending rights and standing against U.S. imperialism.  The internationalism of the October Socialist Revolution is also a vital part of the solutions it provided, one that shines bright to this day.  We too in the U.S. are playing our part to advance the cause of revolution and socialism and are confident that here and worldwide the tide will turn.  Guided by the theory of Marxism-Leninism, the working and oppressed peoples of the world will open the path for the progress of society and the emancipation of humanity.  History is on our side and it is the peoples that will emerge victorious."